Tile making machine



April 4, 1939. H JANSE'N 2,153,307

TILE MAKING MACHINE Filed April 1, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 4, 1939. H. JANSEN TILE MAKING MACHINE Filed April 1, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 4, 1939 PATENT OFFICE TILE MAKING MACHINE Henry Jansen, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Janline Tile Company, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application April 1, 1937, Serial No. 134,315

8 Claims.

The invention relates to tile making machines and more particularly to an improvement in machines for making hollow building tile having exterior longitudinally extending recesses provided as receptacles for nails or other devices for securing fixtures, molding and similar materials to the tile when positioned in the walls or ceilings of a room.

The invention comprises an attachment for tile making machines whereby the completed tile is provided with a plurality of longitudinally aligned recesses extending through the side Walls thereof and terminating in a partition wall, the advantages of such construction and arrangement of recesses being more fully explained and described in my co-pending application, Serial No. 134,314, filed April 1, 1937.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved attachment for tile making machines of the kind described whereby the tile blocks are recessed as described while the material is still plastic, the forming of the recesses being a part of the operation of manufacturing.

Another object of the invention is the pro vision of improved means operable to provide recesses of substantial depth in the side walls of tile blocks Without weakening. the tile for-handling while plastic or lessening its load resistance when the material has hardened.

Many other objects and advantages of the construction and method of assembly herein shown and described will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein given.

To this end my invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

One embodiment of the present invention is shown for illustrative purposes in the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the discharge end of a tile making machine having the device of the invention mounted thereon;

Fig. 2 is a view along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational View of a fragmentary portion of the machine showing the groove forming devices movable into and out of operative relation to a continuous tile block while it is forced along a runway and is severed into sections of standard length; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged scale view taken along the line 4-5 of Fig. 1 illustrating the details of a typical recess formed by the device.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the numeral l generally designates a tile forming machine, only the discharge end of which is shown in the drawings. The machine provides a hopper ll, an expressing auger l2 which forces the plastic material into a casing l3 under pressure, and a die [4 contained in a frame I9 through which the material is discharged in the form of a continuous hollow tile block l5 resting upon and propelled along a platform H6. The block I5 is shown as having two partition walls ll with longitudinally aligned recesses it formed in opposite sides of the block, there being a line of recesses for one or both sides of the tile. The invention is adapted for use with tile blocks having only one partition wall I! and also for use with blocks having a plurality of such walls.

The recesses I8 are formed in the side walls of the block I6 while the block is passing through the frame IS. The device or attachment for forming the recesses 3 includes a plate or block fastened to the machine ID by a plurality of bolts 26. The plate 25 provides a support for cam actuated mechanism operable to move a pair of arms 21 into and out of operative engagement with the opposite sides of the block l5 as 5 it is forced through the frame I9 by the action of the auger l2.

The cam actuated mechanism includes a shaft 28 rotated by a chain drive 29 operatively connected with a source of power by any suitable means not shown. A cam member 30 mounted on and rotatable by the shaft 29 has oppositely projecting arms 3| positioned to successively engage rollers 32 respectively mounted on the adjacent ends of two reciprocally movable bars 33.

A plate 34 connects each arm 21 with a corresponding one of the bars 33 in such a manner that longitudinal movement of the bars 33 by engagement therewith of the projecting cam arms 3i causes a corresponding longitudinal movement of the arms 21.

A plurality of U-shaped plates 35 mounted on the block 25 provides supports and serves as guides for the bars 33 preventing other than longitudinal movement thereof. Outward movement of each bar 33 is resisted by a helical spring 36 having one end projecting into a recess 31 provided for that purpose in the end of the bar and having its other end in bearing contact with an abutment block 38.

Fig. 1 shows the arms 21 and the bars 33 in their respective positions of maximum outward movement wherein the free ends of the arms are out of contact with the tile block l5. As the shaft 28 is rotated from the position shown, the

rollers 32 ride over the longitudinal edges of the cam arms 3|, thereby permitting the springs 36 to move the bars 33 inwardly and also to move the arms 21 inwardly through apertures 39 from the opposite sides of the frame l9 and then into the plastic material comprising the block I5. The free end of each arm 21 comprises a thin wedge and the adjacent portion which follows the wedge portion into the plastic material is transversely corrugated or similarly distorted. The plates 34 are of such a length and so positioned that the arms 21 lie in the median plane of the partition wall I! of the block l5 and'the effective length of the arms 21 is such that the depth of the recesses l8 formed thereby in the block is equal to or greater than the length of a nail or other article adapted to be driven or wedged therein. The recesses I8 thereby extend inwardly as shown beyond the side walls of the block l5 and into the partition Wall H a substantial amount and are spaced substantially from the boundaries of the partition wall.

The arms 21 are fastened on the plates 33 respectlvely by screw bolts thereby permitting adjustment of the effective length of the arms to adapt the device for recessing blocks of different thicknesses or for providing recesses I8 of different depths in the block.

The length and spacing of the recesses I8 obviously depends upon the rate of rotationof the shaft 28 relative to the rate of advancement of the block l5 through the frame I9.

The cam construction is such that the arms 21 are moved rapidly to their position of maximum embedment in the block I5, this occurring while the rollers 32 are travelling over the adja cent sides of the cam arms 3| and into contact with the hub portion of the cam member 30. The embedment of the arms 21 remains constant while the rollers 32 are in contact with the hub portion of the cam member 30 and since this contact is for a relatively longer period, the recesses l8 have a substantial length of uniform depth corresponding to this period of contact. The rollers 32 are then again engaged with the edges of the cam arms 3| resulting in the rapid withdrawal of the arm 31 and the completion of a recess l8. During the relatively short period in which the rollers 32 contact with the ends of the cam arms 3|, as shown in Fig. 1, the arms 21 clear the block l5 and this period determines the amount of spacing between the successively formed aligned recesses.

The recesses I3 formed as described have their extreme outer end portions convergent inwardly and of a width determined by the overall thickness of the distorted portion of the arms 21. The intermediate portion of the recesses, formed while the arms 21 are stationary, have sinuous corrugated or similar shaped bounding side faces spaced apart in an amount equivalent to the normal thickness of the arms 21. The lateral dimensions of the recesses I8 are preferably equal to or slightly less than the diameter of a nail adapted to be driven therein.

Description and disclosure of the major portion of the machine I0, including the power drive therefor, is omitted as being unnecessary to an understanding of the invention which comprises the devices for forming the recesses l8 while the block I5 is being advanced in a manner well known in the art. The shaft 28 is preferably connected with the mechanism driving the auger I2 and will thus be operated at a speed corresponding to the rate the auger advances the plastic tile material.

The shaft may also be actuated by a separate power drive operating at a rate corresponding to the rate of operation of the auger l2 and thereby provide recesses |8 of uniform length and of uniform longitudinally aligned spacing.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided an. attachment mounted on and operated in connection with a tile machine providing longitudinally aligned recesses of the kind described in the side Walls of a tile block in the process of formation, the recesses being of substantial depth and so positioned and spaced that the blocks so recessed are not weakened for handling while plastic and their load resistance after hardening is unimpaired.

Having thus described my invention it is obvious that various immaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, hence I do not Wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described or uses mentioned.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A device for forming a plurality of longitudinally aligned recesses in a moving block of plastic material, said device comprising an elongated bar or plate reciprocally movable into and out of the path of said block and having its opposite edges so positioned as to be intersected throughout their length by a plane parallel to said path, and mechanism operable to reciprocally move the bar into and out of engagement with the block.

2. A device for forming a plurality of longitudinally aligned recesses in a moving block of plastic material, said device comprising a relatively thin elongated bar movable into and out of the path of said block and having its opposite edges so positioned as to be intersected throughout their length by a plane parallel to said path, and mechanism operable to reciprocally move the bar into and out of engagement with the block and to maintain the bar stationary for an interval following each movement of the bar.

3. A device for forming a plurality of longitudinally aligned recesses in a moving block of plastic material, said device comprising a relatively thin elongated bar or plate movable into and out of the path of said block and so positioned that its opposite edges are intersected throughout their length by a plane parallel to said path, said bar providing a corrugation extending substantially in the direction of movement of the block, and mechanism operable to reciprocally move the bar into and out of engagement with the block and to maintain the bar stationary for an interval following each movement of the bar.

4. A device for forming a plurality of longitudinally aligned recesses in a moving block of plastic material, said device comprising an elongated bar or plate movable into and out of the path of said block and so positioned that its edge faces are intersected throughout their length by a plane parallel to said path, resilient means for actuating the bar toward the block and yieldingly maintaining the bar embedded therein, and cam mechanism successively operable to remove the bar to disengage the block and to release the bar for further actuation by said resilient means.

5. A device for forming a plurality of longitudinally aligned recesses in a moving block of plastic material, said device comprising a bar or plate movable into and out of the path of said block and so positioned that its opposite edges are intersected substantially throughout their length by a plane parallel to said path, resilient means for actuating the bar toward the block and yieldingly maintaining the bar embedded therein, and cam mechanism operable to move the bar after an interval of embedment to disengage the block and then to release the bar after an interval of disengagement for further actuation by said resilient means.

6. A device for forming a plurality of longitudinally aligned recesses in a moving block of plastic material, said device comprising an elongated bar longitudinally movable into and out of the path of said block and so positioned that its opposite longitudinal edge faces are intersected throughout their length by a plane parallel to said path, resilient means for actuating the bar toward the block and yieldingly maintaining the bar embedded therein, and cam mechanism successively operable to intermittently move the bar to disengage the block and then to release the bar for further actuation by said resilient means, said bar providing corrugations extending in the general direction of movement of the block.

'7. A device for forming a plurality of longitudinally aligned recesses in a moving block of plastic material, said device comprising a member reciprocally movable transversely to the direction of movement of said block, an elongated bar or plate mounted on said member and movable thereby into and out of recess forming engagement with the block, spring means for moving said member to engage the bar with the block, and cam mechanism successively operable to move the member in the opposite direction to disengage the bar from the block and to release the member for further actuation by said spring means.

8. A device for forming a plurality of longitudinally aligned recesses in a moving block of plastic material, said device comprising a member reciprocally movable transversely to the direction of movement of said block, an elongated bar or plate mounted on said member and successively movable thereby into and out of recess forming engagement with the block, spring means for moving said memberto embed the bar in the block, and cam mechanism intermittently operable to actuate themember to remove the bar from the block after an interval of embedment therein, said mechanism being operable to release the member for movement by said spring means to again embed the bar after an interval of removal from the block.

- HENRY JANSEN. 

